Encyclopaedia Britannica (Life-Sized Word Search #9)

I just finished The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs, a book about what it's like reading the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. The book is a celebration of learning. It's about the randomness and the interconnectedness of things. And it's about the absurdities of history. Each bite-sized entry (to go along with various topics found in the encyclopedia) is funny, interesting, and quick. Great read.

I too enjoy learning new things. I'm determined to brush up on my Spanish this year (because I'm finding opportunities at work to give it a try). We're now in the final quarter of the year so I'm calculating how much catch-up I would have to do to get back on track with the 2016 Reading Plan I started. Anyway, learning and discovery make life more interesting. You agree?

Here are some of the recent finds I've made for my "Life-Sized Word Search" personal challenge:
     Stranger Room by Fred Ramsey: 100 ad hominem, 134 addition and advice, 150 acceptable.
     Know-it-All by A.J. Jacobs: 4 addiction and adult, 5 adversary, 7 a-ak, 9 addled, abolitionism, abominable, 11 aardwolves, abalone, 13 aaah, 64 adornment, 96 absinthe, 268 acne, 292 aback, 293 adrift, 349 abbot, 359 abstruse, 363 aboriginal.
     The Bible: Abound in Philippians 1
     Bible commentary: While reading a Bible commentary I stumbled across the word abrogation
     In hospital setting: abdominal
     In a video game (world of warcraft): Ace

Life-Sized Word Search #8 (starting on ad-)

Did you know that The Hobbit has been translated into Latin? I know that now because I found a copy at a local bookstore. My wife was with me that day so somehow, incredibly, she convinced me not to purchase it. Her argument was that owning The Hobbit in Latin was not a necessity in our lives right now. Hmm, depends on how you define the word 'necessity,' but I begrudgingly agreed with her at the time.

But then over the next few days the thought kept creeping on me -- wait, of course owning The Hobbit in Latin is a necessity! My daughter is 11 months old, if she doesn't hear the sounds of Latin right now then the language part of her brain will turn off and she'll be stuck monolingual like the rest of us. She deserves better. For the sake of my daughter I had to buy this book, if they still had it...

You're not going to believe this but the bookstore still had the book on the shelf! I know, I know, I too was worried that countless people would be interested in grabbing this book. So I snatched it up and have been reading snippets to my daughter ever since. It's been years since I took Latin so chances are high I'm butchering my pronunciations but still, it's a nice motivator to refresh myself on the language I studied through High School.

One of the things I'm enjoying most about reading to my daughter is the music of the sentences. Latin has its own rhythms and beats. That's why I love listening to languages I don't even know, they have ups and downs, lilts and pushes, sentences twist and flow.

The same has also been true for reading children's books in English: the silliness of kid books helps you remember the fun of language. Who can forget those early Seuss rhymes? Or the poetry of Shel Silverstein? All day I've been walking around with a sentence in my mind from one of my daughter's books, "Roly poly on the rug!"

So with all of this in mind, here's my next piece of the "Life-Sized Word Search" list, where I look for real life instances of every word in the English dictionary. I was on the search for words aa- to ac- but I recently found the word adze in a book I was reading, and since I probably won't stumble on that again anytime soon I'm declaring open season on aa- through ad-.

In the book She's Such a Geek, Edited by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders: 16 accessory, 43 accrue, 149 aborted, 158 acquired, 175 accidental and acceptance, 178 action and A+, 184 a la, 187 actually, 188 accurately, 193 acclaim, 206 acquiescence.

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson: page 26, above.

Jimmy's Blues by James Baldwin: 7 aching, 22 accomplice.

Parasites Like Us by Adam Johnson: 136 absorbers, 149 absently, 218 accommodation, 258 achromatic, 262 able-bodied, 264 accountant, 293 acute, 294 A-okay, 329 accelerating.

And for ad-: 'added' in Aug 22 post of Elevated Bag Lady, 'adolescent' in 5 and 193 of She's Such a Geek, 8 advantage, address admonition adze and advanced in Parasites Like Us, admit in Growing Your Faith by Giving it Away.

Life-Sized Word Search #7

When was the last time language excited you? Perhaps you got a kick learning a new word? Or maybe you heard someone talking in another language and became mesmerized by the music of that mysterious code?

My 11-month-old is discovering the world, and with it, language. I remember the first time I looked at her and shouted "booger booger booger!" and she broke out into a loud giggle. When she hears someone make a new sound, or some new combination of syllables, she often zeroes in and recognizes the novelty. And while she has been saying 'mama' for a while but I'm pretty sure she said 'dada' for the first time the other day. Incredible.

So with all of that in mind, here's a few more finds for my 'Life-Sized Word Search,' which, to remind you, is a challenge to find a real-life instance of every word in the dictionary. You are welcome to join me in the search if you'd like (we're still working our way through aa- to ac-).

Abash - Found in a poem in the book Firefall by Mona Van Duyn

Abed - Page 17 of Nurture by Maxine Kumin

Abstemious (yes, seriously!) - Page 75 of Firefall by Mona Van Duyn

Abstinence - Heard while watching an episode of West Wing (we're binge-watching it these days)

Absurd - Page 443 of All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Life-Sized Word Search #6 (aa- through ac-)

Today I'm sharing the next piece of my will-someday-be-very-tedious word search list. I'm on the hunt for vocab words in the aa- to ac- range! Though in a Stephen King book I also came across the words 'anhedonia' and 'stipplework,' two words that I may never see again in my life (so I better hold onto the page numbers for when my list gets there). 

Aa: The word is from Hawaiian for basaltic lava but does it count to find 'aa' as an abbreviation for Alcoholics Anonymous? I saw some a.a. books at my local thrift store.

Aardvark: from Arthur the kid's show. I'm pretty sure I heard the word. 

A-ha: The video above is from a band called a-ha, their well-known song Take on Me

A-list: in A Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North on pg. 75 of Kindle edition

Abracadabra: On page 108 of Mindfreak by Criss Angel. Also 'accomplish.'

Access: Ephesians 2:17-18, "When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit." Romans 5:2 is another great one with the word 'access.'

Accusing: On page 223 of Torn by Justin Lee

In the book Everything's Eventual by Stephen King: Pg. 327 ache, 329 accusatory, 331 abysmally, 332 accumulate

I'm thinking I'll dip into ad- for my next post and REALLY get things moving along. 

Life-Sized Word Search #5 (aa- through ac-)

I can't count the video above for my Word Search (because I found it on the Internet) but what a great find for the word 'abracadabra!'

I've been on the hunt for words starting with aa-, ab-, or ac-. Here's my list:

A-frame: pg. 35 and 36 of Stranger Room by Frederick Ramsay

Accented: The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North. Pg. 33 of Kindle Version.
Accountable: The Love Dare Day by Day (a devotional my wife and I are going through)

Accuser: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. This book also had actual, acquired, actors, abhors, and according.
Accustomed: Growing Your Faith By Giving it Away. This book also had acknowledge, accomplishment, according, accustomed, across, accuracy, actively, and act.
Achieved: In a graduation card given to a High School graduate.

Acid: On a cereal box in the ingredients.

At my home we've been watching a show called Wayward Pines (trailer below). Just started season 2. In the show there are creatures they call Abbies for 'aberrations'

The search continues!

Life-Sized Word Search #4

Recent finds:

A-Team, A-List, A-Bomb (seen in pictures)

In the book Growing Your Faith by Giving it Away (which I rated 3 out of 5 stars): page 74 abstract, 79 abyss, 90 absorbed, 92 able, 95 & 97 about, 97 abbreviated, 107 absence, 146 absent, 133 abandon, 136 abruptly.

New words to find:

accelerate, accent, accentuate, accept, access, accessaries, accessible, accession, accessory, acciaccatura, accidence, accident

Life-Sized Word Search #3

You're surrounded by great words!

I'm learning that you don't have to look very far for unexpected, interesting word choices. For example, have you ever learned a new word and then started to see it pop up everywhere? There's actually a scientific term for that: the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. Yesterday I came across a word that was totally new to me (disquisition).

My recent assignment (to be on the lookout for words that start aa- or ab-) is, I admit, a little crazy. At best it's a nerdy and slightly embarrassing achievement. BUT already the result is that I'm slightly more incentivized to acknowledge and appreciate the use of a rare word.

So no, I'm not reading books word for word, looking back and forth between the book and my list of words-to-find. That would be silly. Instead I'm just generally on the lookout, and occasionally I feel a little ping, re-read a sentence, and realize I found a word on the list.

If you're a language/vocabulary nerd then consider joining me. Yes it's a silly project but who cares, it'll itch your completionist side. And it may just cause you to stop and smell the lexicographical roses.


Recent Finds

Abides: John 15:4 and The Big Lebowski movie (haha, what a combo of sources). I didn't actually go through the motion of getting out the movie and finding the scene but I know the word appears in that movie, as in the phrase, "The Dude Abides." https://youtu.be/sYsw0KVRjCM

Ability: page 25 of Growing Your Faith by Giving it Away by R. York Moore.

Abomination: page 15 of Torn by Justin Lee (a book that tries to build bridges between the various sides of the Christian approach to sexuality, written by the founder of the Gay Christian Network)

Absolutely: page 13 of Growing Your Faith by Giving it Away by R. York Moore and page 9 of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Abundantly: page 24 of Growing Your Faith by Giving it Away, "It is knowing Jesus and following him on a daily basis that allows us to live life the way it was intended: abundantly, fully and freely."

Academic: page 12 of Torn by Justin Lee. I expect I'll also see/hear this word in the context of High School graduation parties I'll be attending in the next couple of weeks.

Academy: page 28 of Stranger Room by Frederick Ramsay

Seven words found which means seven more are added to the bottom of the words-to-find: acarid, acaroid, acatalectic, acausal, accede, accelerando, accelerant. Though 'accelerando' feels like jargon and my spellcheck doesn't know 'acausal' or 'acaroid,' oh boy.

Life-Sized Word Search #2

My wife thinks I should call this "Living Word Search" instead. What do you think? Either way, I'm doing this vocabulary scavenger hunt where I look for real-life examples of words. This past week I was looking for words that started with aa- or ab-

I should have mentioned last post: I can search for words but I can't provoke/prompt them. In other words, it's not a game of "catchphrase" where I'm trying to get my friends to say bizarre words. Here's how I did:

a capella: This was an easy one to find. The dad of one of my best friends growing up would emcee a cappella events. So I still have one of the cd's my friend made me which has a fantastic mix of songs (from groups like Da Vinci's Notebook, The Bobs, Glad). Oh, and that childhood friend of mine (David Senft) went on to be in a band himself that's definitely worth checking out called Darlingside. Here's my favorite song of theirs called "Terrible Things":

a priori: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. (I'm also counting a posteriori for this one). In High School I went through a phase where I wanted to absorb as much philosophy as I could. At the time this book made a big impact on me. I wonder what it would be like to re-read it now? Hmm.

abduct/abduction: On a recent SNL (with Brie Larson) there was a hilarious skit about alien abduction. Kate McKinnon is one of the funniest cast members that show has ever had. Here is the first time they did the skit this year (with Ryan Gosling):

abnegation: from Divergent the young adult fiction book

abuse: spoken by someone I know as they described a situation

Near hits: mollusk instead of abalone. I almost got 'aboriginal' when I was telling someone I had too many musical instruments at home. They said, "Like what?", I said "didgeridoo," they then asked what a didgeridoo was. So yeah, close one.

So a slow first week, five words. Which means 5 new words join at the bottom of my search list: acacia, academe/academia/academic, acajou, acalculia, acanthamoeba. (Hmm, should scientific words count as 'jargon'?)

Life-Sized Word Search #1

Do you love scavenger hunts AND adding words to your vocabulary!? No? Well, either way I'm going to share about a new challenge I'm giving myself: I call it "Life-Sized Word Search" and basically it means I'll be finding a real-life instance of every word in the dictionary.

In some ways this idea started back when I was growing up and my mom would give my brother and me a "word of the day." That new word would broaden our horizons and keep us on the lookout for new things. Without a doubt this world is a big, strange, wonderful place.

So here are the rules:
1. Find every word in the dictionary. (I'll be using the New Oxford American Dictionary primarily because it's the one sitting on my Mac desktop, easy).
2. Words on websites don't count. Otherwise I could google everything, that would be lame.
3. Only one conjugation of a word needed. No proper nouns, phrases, jargon, archaic words, or abbreviations.
4. When I find a word I cross it off the list and add a new word to the bottom. At any given time I'll be looking for like 100 or 125 words.
5. Have fun! Life is a game so enjoy.

Hopefully this little "project" will lead me on mini-adventures, remind me of how delightful language is, and stave away a wee bit of boredom.

The challenge begins today and I'm already pleased with what I've found. I found the word "abutment" when I was reading a book on basketball of all places! That just goes to show that you never know where a word is going to pop up.

a: It's been fun to fill my daughter's bookshelf (she's 7 months old) with books for her to enjoy. I grabbed a few of the alphabet books for a quick photo.

abacus: Stumbled across in a book I'm currently reading. Pg. 80-81 of Ancient Puzzles: Classic Brainteasers and Other Timeless Mathematical Games of the Last 10 Centuries by Dominic Olivastro. He references the publication of Liber Abaci (The Book of the Abacus) by Leonardo Pisano (or Fibonacci). 

ablative: I happened to shuffle around some books on my bookshelf today. I peeked into my old Latin Grammar book to find an instance of the word 'ablative.' [I'm pretty sure I also stumbled across the word last week when I was peeking through a German grammar book?]

abutment: Not every word has to come from a book but here you go, from pg. 236 of Can I Keep My Jersey? by Paul Shirley. He is writing about driving in Russia: "First of all, the streets have no markings. No lane lines, no turning lanes. The roads are one big racetrack, with the added obstacle of cars choosing entirely new directions of travel at a moment's notice. It is not so bad when the streets are confined by some boundary, such as buildings, a canal, or a bridge abutment. However, when a widening occurs -- near an intersection, for example -- all hell breaks loose."

These finds were just in the short lead-up to this post. But now the real search begins! The hunt is on for words starting with aa- or ab- . If you think I am missing or skipping a word I shouldn't, let me know. Below is my starting list:

a cappella, A-frame, aha, a la, a-line, a-list, a-okay, a posteriori, a priori, a-shirt, A-side, A-team, A1, aa, aardvark, aardwolf, aargh, abs, abdabs, abaca, aback, abaft, abalone, abandon, abase, abash, abate, abates, abattoir, abaxial, abaya, abbey, abbot, abbreviate, abdicate, abdomen, abduct, abecedarian, abele, abelian, abelian, aberrant, abet, abeyance, abhinaya, abhor, abide, ability, abiotic, abject, abjuration, ablate, ablaut, ablaze, able, able-bodied, ableist, abloom, ablush, ablution, ably, abnegate, abnormal, aboard, abode, abolish, abomasa, abominable, aboral, aboriginal, aborisation, aborning, abort, aboulia, abound, about, about-face, above, above-board, above-mentioned, above-named, abracadabra, abrade, abrasion, abreaction, abreast, abridge, abroad, abrogate, abrupt, abscess, abscise, abscissa, abscission, abscond, abseil, absence, absinthe, absolute, absolution, absolutism, absonant, absorb, absquatulate, abstain, abstemious, abstinence, abstract, abstruse, absurd, abubble, abulia, abundance, aura, abuse, abustle, abutilon, abuzz, abyss